Leg Workouts for Women | Squats and Deadlifts for a Tight Butt

"I put more girls through college then the United Negro College Fund" - Chris Rock

I might not have put numerous women through college but throughout my career I've helped dozens of women obtain their best legs ever. I've also assisted many of them with earning their pro cards in bikini, figure and physique.

I know leg training. I know what works. I've spent years training myself and working with females at all levels - from the housewife trying to tighten and return to her pre-pregnancy shape, to the professional level physique athlete.

Regardless of the level of development, the bottom line is that women need to train like men. They need to hit legs hard and with more than just a high number of thoughtless reps. Women need heavy and hard training with a lot of volume done multiple times per week.

If you are a female who is tired of spinning your wheels (pun DEFINITELY intended) and seeing little to no results, this article is for you.

2 Leg Workouts for Women

The first caveat is that you need to train legs twice per week. This article isn't a full workout routine, but your split could look something like this:

Day 1: Quad-Dominant Legs

Day 2: Chest and Triceps

Day 3: Off

Day 4: Back and Biceps

Day 5: Hamstring-Dominant Legs

Day 6: Shoulders

Day 7: Off

We will focus on the two leg days here. The bottom line is that you need to hit it, and hit it hard. Since since legs are over 50% of your total body mass, they truly deserve more than one training day per week.

Day one is focused on squats. Squats are considered a quad-dominant leg movement. They also target glutes and hit a good amount of hamstrings and the rest of the body is used in stabilizing. Thus, they are a true full-body movement.

Here is a video on how to perform squats featuring Dr. Stu:

Basically, torso tight, push out with your knees and drop until you hit a 90 degree leg bend, or just below that.

Leg presses are hard on the hips because they have a fixed range of motion. If the back rounds, it may cause some potential issues. For this movement, lower the weight down until the back wants to round and then push it back up.

The rest of the exercises will compliment these two main movements. We will finish with a hamstring curl to give the hamstrings just a little bit of love on this wonderful day. These leg workouts for women are topped off with calf movements. Day one looks like this:

Day 1: Quad-Dominant

Leg Workouts for Women

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Squats

4

15, 12, 10, 8

Leg Press

5

15 to 6

Hack Squat

3

8-12

Leg Extension

3

15

Calf Raise of Choice

3

15

Squats: Pyramid up in weight. Start with a lighter weight for 15 reps and work up to a heavier weight at 8 reps for 4 sets. For example:

75 x 15

95 x 12

115 x 10

135 x 8

Leg Press: Pyramid up in weight like:

90 x 15

135 x 12

180 x 10

225 x 8

270 x 6

Day two is built around deadlifts. While deadlifts do work your back in a very efficient manner, it is actually a hip-dominant leg movement. And since we like to start out with the most difficult compound movement possible on leg day, deadlifts lead the way for this glute-tightening torture session!

For more information on the perfect deadlift, see this:

We then do lunges which hit the entire leg, especially the glutes, and fill in the rest with some hamstring-focused movements.

Day two looks like this:

Day 2: Hamstring-Dominant

Leg Workouts for Women

Exercise

Sets

Reps

Deadlifts

4

15, 12, 10, 8

Walking Lunges

3

10

Lying Leg Curl

4

15

Seated or Single Leg Curl

4

15

Straight Leg Deadlift

3

10-15

Calf Raise of Choice

3

15

Deadlifts: Pyramid up in weight. Start with a lighter weight for 15 reps and work up to a heavier weight at 6 reps for 4 sets. For example:

45 x 15

75 x 12

95 x 10

135 x 8

You are training the entire leg on both days yet focusing on one area more than the other. Heck, this hits the ENTIRE body!

Benefits of Leg Workouts for Women

These leg workouts aren't just about being sexy, they are also about health! Here are some benefits:

Bone Density - Resistance training has been proven to improve bone density in women as they age.

Metabolism - The more compound the movements, the more calories burned, the more your metabolism is ignited, the more FAT LOSS you achieve!

Core Strength - Squats and deadlifts especially engage your core like no other movements, helping to achieve a tight, strong midsection along with a powerful and pain free lower back!

Sexy Butt - Training lower body in this fashion will lead to improved lean mass and less fat in your lower body. This includes your butt. If a tight, firm and shapely butt is what you're after, this is how you get it.

Prepping for Leg Day Workouts

These leg workouts are hard. Very hard. But you need to get out of that Jane Fonda mindset and stop just going through the motions.

You need to step into the gym with reckless abandon, ready to crush it. To get your mind right, I recommend a good pre-workout that isn't too heavy or overloaded with stimulants but will have your body ready with ample muscle building and fat loss promoting ingredients, as well as mental focus agents to get you in the zone. MTS Nutrition CLASH® is the best choice for this.

During training, you will really need to get your nutrients in. This will keep you going as well as help to ignite the recovery process as you break down your muscles. For this, a good BCAA-based formula is proven to do just that. I recommend MTS Nutrition Machine Fuel.

Post-workout, you want to get back in the zone right away with a carb source that will replenish your depleted legs without spiking insulin that might lead to fat gain. MTS Nutrition Machine Carb 10 is the only carb on the market that can do this.

You also need protein to prevent muscle loss and to facilitate recovery. Mixing MTS Nutrition Machine ISO into your Carb 10 is the way to do this! So here is the supplement prescription for around training:

The Perfect Diet for Shapely Legs

To get shapely legs, you need to lose fat. We have the PERFECT diet for you: The Fat Loss Factor. It has a Just for Women section that will help you reach your goals.

The program is here. All you need to tighten up your lower body, from diet to cardio to supplements .I got you covered! Start this leg workout routine immediately and you'll be well on your way to the lower body of your dreams. Sexy butt included!

Marc is currently Chief Marketing Officer of TigerFitness.com, a 2012-2017 INC. 500/5000 company as well as Owner/CEO of two of the fastest growing supplement companies, EthiTech Nutrition and MTS Nutrition.

Marc is Vice President of the American Natural Bodybuilding Federation; Partner in Hollywood Militia Training; President of "The Uprising Muscle Camps, a 501c non-profit organization and also publishes MachineMuscle.com, an online health and fitness publication and owns the clothing line Machine Training Gear. Alongside this, Marc is a Professional Bodybuilder.

As the leader of Scivation, a multi-million dollar, globally distributed sport nutrition company, Marc was the most accessible and energizing sports nutrition company CEO in the history of the industry. During his seven years at Scivation, he launched and developed Team Scivation, an online personal training and diet program, into the largest of its kind in Sport Nutrition history with over 70,000 concurrent members.

Prior to starting Scivation, Marc was a co-founder of, and served as Chief Marketing Officer for the Sylvester Stallone sports nutrition company, INSTONE, LLC. Marc also spent over four years working for Weider Publications’ Muscle & Fitness, FLEX, Men’s Fitness and Muscle & Fitness Hers magazines.

Marc has been featured in Muscle & Strength, MuscleMag International (Italy), and Ironman (Australia) magazines, and has appeared in Men's Fitness as a physique model. Marc has authored several print articles that have appeared in trade magazines such as Muscle & Fitness, as well as online at Bodybuilding.com, and has also co-authored 10 books on the subject of physique transformation, with titles such as, The Fat Loss Factor; Game Over: The Final Showtime Cut Diet You'll Ever Need, The Diet Solution: The NEW American Diet, C.H.A. Diet: The Final Answer on Carbless Bulking & Cutting, The Fat Loss Factor, and The Lifestyle Cut Diet: The Final Diet You'll Ever Need to Stay Lean and Healthy.

* Tiger Fitness does not imply any medical advice in this article. There are no guarantees of specific results and results may vary. Please consult your family Dr. before starting any diet or training program.